Student Short Biography:
I am Patricia Stella Nekesa Wamukota, an ambitious and dynamic woman with an objective of being part of solutions to today’s social, economic, scientific and technological problems.
I am a female Kenyan, born in Bungoma county in 1992.
I started school at Misikhu Girls Primary, where I did my K.C.P.E and obtained 339/500 marks in 2007.
I proceeded to Chwele Girls Secondary School where I sat for my K.C.S.E in 2011 and scored a mean grade of A (minus).
I joined the School of Biological Sciences of the University of Nairobi in May 2013 to take a BSc degree course in Microbiology and Biotechnology.
During my undergraduate training, I obtained knowledge and skills in, but not limited to Bacteriology, Virology, Parasitology, Mycology, Molecular Biology, Plant Biotechnology and Biostatistics.
I graduated from UoN in 2017 with First Class Honors degree, and later joined my alma mater for a Master’s degree in Applied Parasitology.
I have two dissertations listed below:
Wamukota P. S. N. 2020, Efficacy of Clarias alluaudi as a biocontrol agent for Anopheles Mosquitoes. MSc thesis, University of Nairobi.
Wamukota P. S. N. 2016, Differential efficacies of methanol, hot and cold aqueous crude extracts of Erythrina abyssinica (Flame tree) against selected bacteria strains. BSc thesis, University of Nairobi.
My key research interests include the control of vector-borne diseases, Molecular Biology and Immunology of human infections, Microbial biotechnology and Basic Microbiology.
I aim at being a competent and impactful scientific researcher and instructor.
Project Summary
Thesis / Project Title: EFFICACY OF CLARIAS ALLUAUDI AS A BIOCONTROL AGENT FOR ANOPHELES MOSQUITOES
Thesis / Project Abstract:
More research is being tailored towards the biological control of malaria mosquitoes due to resistance of the mosquitoes to insecticides in use. Larvivorous fishes recommended for mosquito control are introduced voracious species that pose an extinction danger to native fauna and flora. This study tested the efficacy of a native catfish (Clarias alluaudi) in controlling malaria mosquitoes. The larvivorous efficacy was evaluated on basis of the speed at which a fish took to apprehend mosquito larva/pupa availed (exposure time), selective predation on An. gambiae and Ae. aegypti larvae and pupae by the fish, and its predatory index. Gambusia affinis and Poecilia reticulata were used as positive controls. Generalized linear models were used to document differences in the exposure times, feeding preferences and predatory indices among the three fish species. Clarias alluaudi exhibited the shortest exposure time amongst the three fish species when offered mosquito pupae. The fish took a significantly shorter time to apprehend Ae. aegypti larvae as compared to An. gambiae larvae. In selective predation experiments, C. alluaudi preferred late instar larvae of Ae. aegypti over An. gambiae. Late instar larvae were preferred over pupae in all experiments consisting of the two developmental stages, irrespective of the fish species. Whereas Clarias alluaudi consumed the highest number of prey items amongst the three fish species per day, it had the lowest predatory index, which was measured as the mean number of mosquitoes consumed per unit weight of a fish per day. Results obtained point towards possible deployment of C. alluaudi into mosquito breeding habitats for mosquito control purposes.